V de Vingança

We haven't watched this movie before and it has been out for 15 years. It seemed a tad too cartoonish in the first few minutes so we gave up on it when we first tried to watch many years ago. I am glad we gave it another view tonight-it could be a movie about the events happening today and so very realistic it is frightening. It has a good storyline and the acting is well done. More importantly is the message it carries and we should all take that message seriously if we don't want to end up living in a country governed by martial law, fear and loss of freedom.

DC Comics has a rather poor reputation lately. Despite having some great superheroes, the films based on their characters often have sucked. However, one of the best and most worthwhile films based on their comics is WELL worth seeing..."V for Vendetta".

The story is placed in a dystopian future. According to this future, the United States has been torn apart by civil war and disasters. And, the United Kingdom has gone from a constitutional monarchy to a repressive fascist dictatorship. But the government is far more evil than just repressing free speech. It seems that much of the chaos that led to this government was actually created by the man who now is in charge. To create a climate of fear and chaos, the government has created fake terrorists...and used the deaths of 10s of thousands of Brits as an excuse to control the country with an iron fist.

The only hope Britain has is a weird nehilistic superhero, V. V (Hugo Weaving) is determined to bring down the government and give the country back to the people. But how? And what part does Evey (Natalie Portman) play in all this? See the film.

This is a very exciting and intelligent film. It definitely kept my interest...much of it because the whole thing (aside from the near indestructable anti-hero) seemed possible! Well worth seeing and exceptionally well made.

By the way, if you like this film, try the 1960s Italian film "Danger: Diabolik". Both have very, very similar themes and both are wonderful movies.

There are some that will, upon seeing this film, say that it was akin to Andrew Lloyd Weber attempting to make a political statement: overly dramatic. These people would be well served to remember that the symbol of drama is a mask, which certainly begs one important question- Why, if you are so put off by an overtly dramatic motion picture, would you choose to see a movie that stars as the (anti)hero a man in a mask? I just saw this film at an advanced screening and I must say it is nothing short of uniquely brilliant. Entertaining from the start, V manages to combine a strong socio-political message in a compact and highly intense experience. Infused with issues and concepts that pervade in the global political climate of our times, this movie is endowed with a tremendous timely relevance that belies its trappings as a mere action adventure.

The acting, the cinematography, the effects, and the general vision of this film all lead me to believe that it will likely receive a cult following. It is only my hope that the message of this film will come to summarize the history of our future ascendancy to true liberty.

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. In the meantime, go see this movie.

Remember, remember...

A movie that share too many similarities with our current era.

The casting was perfect, the execution was immaculate, the cinematography is beautiful, the acting is top notch and the writing awesome.

It's a very powerful film that everyone should watch

This movie became one of my top tens since the first time I watched it back in '06.

A masked messiah seeks to topple fascist rule, despotic government's so brutal and so cruel, all diversity has gone, being different is now wrong, poor Britannia is no longer calm and cool. The police have spies and cameras everywhere, their eyes and ears observe the wires, seize and snare, but disguises cause surprises, hero V knifes, Fawkes and prises, to derail those, that sit in the top chairs. Removing dread, concern and fear is the key, which V does tormentingly to friend Evey, enables her to have the power, as the clock counts down the hour, to raze a tomb that sets the shackled people free.

A fantastic piece of storytelling with outstanding performances all round.